This invention relates generally to a chocolate coating for a dairy dessert and more particularly, to a novel chocolate coating low in saturated fats for use in conjunction with a frozen dairy dessert such as an ice cream bar, cone, or the like.
Consumers have become increasingly concerned about the saturated fat content of the foods which they eat and the effect of such foods on their health and general well-being. Saturated fat has been shown to increase levels of cholesterol in the blood and has been linked to heart disease. Prudent consumers thus consciously seek foods having low saturated fat content.
Chocolate coatings for dairy desserts traditionally have been manufactured with tropical oils, particularly coconut oil which is high in saturated fat. Coconut oil has been preferred because of its reasonable cost, its compatibility with chocolate liquors and its neutral flavor which lets the chocolate flavor come through on the finished product. It has a good shelf life and does not have a waxy taste. Coconut oil is also beneficial to the production process since it dries quickly on the frozen dessert and is very compatible with automatic dipping machines used in the manufacturing process.
For various reasons, the prior art has tried to replace at least part of the coconut oil with nonlauric edible oils, and typical proposals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,333,968; 4,396,633; and 4,430,350. However, formulations such as these have not become commercially acceptable and the use of coconut oil alone remains predominant in the manufacture of chocolate coatings.
In addition, none of the prior art proposals discusses or recognizes the problems associated with saturated fats as contained, for example, in the popular coconut oil and none suggests a suitable replacement for the coconut oil to reduce the saturated fat while, at the same time, retaining taste, flavor, viscosity, blending and processing characteristics similar to those provided by coconut oil.